The Georgia Health Policy Center, in partnership with Boston University, Boston College, and the Black Child Development Institute Atlanta, is examining how environmental racial bias is linked with maternal physical and mental health and child physical health and behavioral functioning among Black families.

This project, supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, employs a multimethod, participatory approach. Quantitatively, the study assesses links among a sample of Black families drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). A key innovation of this project is the creation of an integrated data set that merges ECLS-B data with measures of environmental bias (drawn from Project Implicit) and supplemental information on neighborhood assets, drawn from neighborhood-level administrative data such as the U.S. Census. Qualitatively, the study employs participatory methodology (i.e., Photovoice) to obtain a richer understanding of the racial bias experienced by Black mothers and how it impacts their and their children’s well-being. The study is assessing the protective factors that facilitate and promote positive health and developmental outcomes despite exposure to environmental racial bias.

Population Health

Research & Evaluation